Belmont University officials announced today that the school plans to open the state's sixth law school in Nashville by 2011. The university will spend $25 million to build a 75,000-square-foot facility, which will accommodate a total enrollment of 350 students. The inaugural class is expected to number 120 students with tuition set between $25,000 and $35,000 a year. Planning for the school, which was kept secret, has been in the works for five years. The school decided to move forward after finding that more than half of those who sit for the state bar exam attend law school in another state and that, compared to neighboring states, Tennessee has fewer lawyers per capita.

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Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; James E. Gaylord, Assistant Attorney General; and R. Stephen Powers, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: LEE

The Defendant, Scott Houston Nash, was convicted of fourth offense driving under the influence ("DUI"), a Class E felony, and sentenced to serve two years in the Department of Corrections. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Mr. Nash's sentence. On appeal to this Court, we review the
following issues: (1) whether the trial court abused its discretion in determining that a trial witness'
unsolicited reference to Mr. Nash's prior DUI arrests was not so prejudicial as to warrant a mistrial; (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the judicial commissioner who initially determined probable cause to testify at the trial as to Mr. Nash's condition when he arrived at the police department; and (3) whether the recall of the previously discharged jury for the enhancement portion of Mr. Nash's bifurcated trial violated his constitutional rights. Upon review, we hold: (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that an unsolicited reference to prior DUI arrests did not warrant a mistrial in this instance; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the judicial commissioner to testify in this case; and (3) the recall of the discharged jury violated Mr. Nash's due process rights. Consequentially, Mr. Nash's conviction is affirmed and this case is remanded to the trial court to select a new jury in order to hold a new trial solely on the issue of whether Mr. Nash's conviction is his first, second, third, or fourth DUI offense based on the evidence
presented regarding prior convictions.

The decedent, Martha M. Tanner, died intestate while a resident of a nursing facility. Nineteen months later, the Bureau of TennCare filed a complaint in the Davidson County Chancery Court seeking the appointment of an administrator of her estate. The case was transferred to the probate court, and the decedent's son, Thomas Tanner, was appointed administrator. The Bureau of TennCare then filed a claim seeking recovery of "medical assistance correctly paid" on behalf of the decedent pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 71-5-116 (1995 & Supp. 2002) and 42 United States Code section 1396p (2003 & Supp. 2009). The probate court dismissed the claim as
untimely, and, upon direct appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed. We granted application for permission to appeal in order to consider whether the claim is procedurally barred. Because section 71-5-116 places an obligation on the representative of an estate to obtain a waiver or release from the Bureau, the claim is not subject to a one-year statute of limitations. The judgment of the Court
of Appeals is, therefore, reversed, and the cause is remanded to the probate court.

Jessica D. ("Mother") executed the necessary forms to surrender her parental rights to her biological
child, Jasmine D. ("the Child"). The Juvenile Court approved the surrender of Mother's parental rights to the Child. Approximately four months later, Mother filed a petition/motion attempting to revoke the surrender. The Juvenile Court denied the petition/motion to revoke the surrender. Mother appeals to this Court. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2009/jasmined_100709.pdfCURTIS S. PERSON v. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE, ET AL.CORRECTION is on page 1, in the fifth line of the introductory paragraph where "Juvenile Court of Davidson County" has been changed to "Shelby" County

In 1967, the General Assembly passed a Private act consolidating the juvenile courts of Memphis and Shelby County by establishing a new court. The Act also provided for a second division, with the judgeship of that division to remain vacant until the County Commission determined the need for it. Almost forty years later, the Commission adopted a resolution approving the appointment of a judge to the second division of the court. The current judge of the Juvenile Court of Shelby County challenged the attempted creation of a second judgeship, arguing that the relevant portion of the Private Act constituted an unconstitutional delegation of the authority to ordain and establish courts, which power is reserved to the General Assembly by the Tennessee Constitution. Because a judge is a necessary component of a court, in order to "ordain and establish" a court under Art. VI, section 1, the legislation creating or establishing the court must make provision for a judge. The legislature cannot establish a court without also establishing a judgeship. Since Section 20 of the Private Act does not create or establish a judgeship for division 2, it did not effectively create or establish that division or court. Additionally, because in Section 20 of the Private Act the legislature delegated to the Commission the power to decide whether a judge for division 2 was needed, which is the equivalent of delegating to the Commission the authority to establish or create division 2 of the juvenile court, we conclude that Section 20 is an unconstitutional delegation of power reserved to the General Assembly by Art. VI, section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution and, therefore, reverse the trial court's holding on that issue. We affirm the trial court's ruling on Open Meeting Act claims based on a prior resolution that was promptly rescinded by the Commission.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; John Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; and Charles Crawford, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WOODALL

Petitioner, Calvin R. Cannon, appeals the trial court's dismissal of his four petitions for post- conviction relief. The State has filed a motion pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, for this Court to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion. We grant the motion and affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachael Harmon West, Assistant Attorney General; and William Whitesell, District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WELLES

The Petitioner, Gregory Allen Cathey, appeals from the order of the trial court dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief as time-barred. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. We grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Mary W. Francois, Assistant Attorney General; William C. Whitesell, Jr., District Attorney General; and Trevor H. Lynch, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WILLIAMS

The petitioner, Le Tonio Swader, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief by the Rutherford County Circuit Court from his convictions for first degree felony murder; second degree murder, a Class A felony; attempted especially aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; and possession of a
deadly weapon during the commission of an offense, a Class E felony. The murder convictions were merged. He was sentenced to a total effective sentence of life plus two years. He contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions, which is not a proper post-conviction claim, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel for which the petitioner has failed to carry his burden of proof. He also argues for the first time in this proceeding that his convictions amounted to double jeopardy. After careful review, we affirm the judgment from the post-conviction court.

The Tennessee Asian Pacific American Bar Association (TAPABA) has elected new officers for the 2009-2010 bar year. They are President Kaz Kikkawa with HCA, Vice President Kyong Choi with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, Treasurer Shilina Chatterjee Brown with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority and Secretary Robert Tom with Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. All are from Nashville. Board members are Teresa Chan with Ellison, Schneider & Harris in Saratoga, Calif.; Ruchee J. Patel of Memphis; and Nashville lawyers Chris Chi with Bass Berry & Sims, Ling Guan with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Chay Sengkhounmany with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Jon Stanley with Bridgestone Americas, Mo Syed with King & Ballow, Lester Yano with the Universal Music Group, and Seth Yu with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.

The TBA Public Education Committee is looking for lawyers for a short-term, limited-commitment assignment as a coach in the Appellate Moot Court Collegiate Challenge, or AMC3 program, of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature. The teams of college students will compete Nov. 12-15 in Nashville. Coaches meet or confer by phone with the teams and a faculty advisor. To offer to serve as a coach contact Lynn Pointer on the TBA staff at (615) 383-7421 or lpointer@tnbar.org.

Area college students will be able to continue holding church services with the homeless after the ACLU successfully negotiated a revised Metro Board of Parks and Recreation policy that had unfairly blocked religious groups' use of park space. The new policy allows religious and non-religious groups of up to 25 people to meet regularly in public parks without obtaining a permit. The rule previously prohibited any religious activity on a regular or permanent basis. The ACLU announced the agreement in a press release today.

Bloomberg to launch new legal search site

After at least two years of development, Bloomberg is getting ready to launch a new legal search engine that could give industry leaders a run for their money, according to JD Journal. Bloomberg Law says the new venture, which will be fully activated by the end of the month, is a "legal, regulatory, and compliance research platform, offering a suite of news, data and analytics to the legal and compliance community."

Several legal writing competitions are available for law students in the state. The
Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni is seeking papers in the field of securities law. The American Bankruptcy Institute is hosting a competition on the issues of bankruptcy jurisdiction, litigation or evidence. And the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review is accepting submissions for its annual "Law Stories" issue. This year's theme is "1L Revisited" -- true stories from the first year of law school. That contest is also open to recent law graduates.

Tennessee CASA holds annual meeting

The Tennessee CASA Association recently held its annual meeting in Nashville. State Representative Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, was honored as legislator of the year and Cindy Perry, executive director of the Select Committee on Children and Youth, was honored as advocate of the year. Nyasha Justice with the Administrative Office of the Courts gave the keynote address. The group also announced its new board of directors, which includes Nashville lawyer James B. Johnson with Stites and Harbison PLLC.

Metro Nashville police arrested a woman who attempted to bring a gun into the Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center earlier this week. The Nashville City Paper reported that the gun, which was in her handbag, was detected by the X-ray machine at the entrance to the building. She is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Supreme Court Report

Court ponders cross on park land

The Supreme Court appeared divided today over whether a cross on federal land in California violates the U.S. Constitution. The case, brought by a former National Park Service employee, seeks to have the cross removed or permanently covered because the agency refuses to allow a Buddhist memorial in the area. The government is arguing that the employee has no standing to bring the case because, as a Christian, he has suffered no harm.

Civil rights pioneer Rev. Benjamin L. Hooks was in Washington, D.C. last night to kick off a new speaker series called "Civil Rights and Social Justice: Past, Present and Future." The event, sponsored by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, will feature lectures by university faculty in D.C. and in Memphis. Hooks will repeat his lecture in Memphis on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. at the university's Michael D. Rose Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. A native of Memphis, Hooks received his law degree from DePaul University. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first African-American to serve as judge on a court of record -- the Shelby County Criminal Court -- in the south.

Disciplinary Actions

20 more lawyers suspended for fee violations

In the sixth suspension order filed this year by the Board of Professional Responsibility, 20 additional lawyers were suspended on Oct. 5 for failure to pay the annual licensing fee. Lawyers who since have paid the fee are noted as being reinstated.

Kenitra Fewell, formerly of Virginia but now stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and Jamal Johnson of New York, N.Y., have been reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee after paying the 2009 BPR fee and required fines.

Join your colleagues on the TBA's new Social Networking platform for members called TBA Connect. This service provides many of the same features of mainstream sites such as Linked In or Facebook, but access is limited to members of the Tennessee Bar Association and approved guests.